The Pokémon Master: Red's Tale
by The Guy Writing This
Summary: Red was just a normal kid until he lost his voice. His life was a neverending spiral of defeat and failure. Now, on his eleventh birthday, the journey for his greatest wish, to be a Pokémon Master, is beginning. Follow him through each adventure and see what it takes to be a true master in the world of Pokémon.
1. Chapter 1

This is the story of a boy, born and raised in Kanto. His name was Ren Masuta, though he hardly went by that. He's better known by his nickname, "Red". The boy, like many boys his age, dreamed of becoming a Pokémon Master. This is his journey, his odyssey, his quest to fulfill that dream. This is...

* * *

**The Pokémon Master: Red's Tale**

* * *

When he was a little boy, Red's best friend was a kid he called Blue Oak. They were friends since birth, until one day when both just suddenly stopped playing together. Red was only five years old. He and Blue were playing in Blue's grandfather's lab, when he saw a Poké Ball. Red was so exited, he let the Pokémon out as soon as he grabbed it. The Pokémon in the ball was a Charmander.

Blue sneaked up behind the Charmander and yanked its tail. The creature released a burst of flame that severely burned Red, especially on his neck and chest. Red was sent to a hospital where he needed heavy surgery. He recovered, but now he was completely unable to speak. The most he could mutter was a grunt or two.

Things continued to get worse for young Red. When he was seven, his father left on a business trip to the Johto region. He was never seen again after that. He would have gone insane if not for his new interest in Pokémon. He would study them every night, reading about all 151 kinds found in the Kanto region and about Professor Oak, Blue's grandfather and the man who tried to classify them all.

* * *

Now Red was turning 11. He woke up and crawled out of bed. Red had forgotten to turn off his TV. Now his SNES game was still on. He just ignored it and walked downstairs. There, he found his mom eating lunch.

"Happy birthday, Ren." His mother was the only one who called him by his real name anymore.

Red smiled at her before turning on the television. Some movie about four kids on a railroad track was on. It was nothing interesting.

"I think you should go to Viridian City today to celebrate," she said, "All boys leave home someday." She sighed. "Professor Oak is looking for you. I'll miss you."

Red gave her a hug and walked out the door. He was about to go to Route 1 when suddenly an old man stopped him. He was wearing a lab coat over a lavender shirt, with brown trousers and grey hair. He looked somewhat eccentric and very smart.

"Hey! Wait! Don't go out!" he yelled, running up to Red, "Wild Pokémon live in tall grass! You need your own Pokémon for protection. I know! Come with me!"

Red was confused by all this. Reluctantly, he followed the man into a lab. Professor Oak's lab. That when Red realized who the old man was. Professor Oak. _The _Professor Oak. Red was so excited he would scream if he was able to. Unfortunately, Blue had to be there.

"Gramps!" Blue screamed, "I'm sick of waiting!"

"Alright, here!" he said, directing Red towards a table in the back of the room. It had three balls, red on one half and white on the other. "These are Poké Balls. Each contains one Pokémon, back from my days as a collector. These are all that remain of those days. And now, I want each of you to have one. So pick one," the professor said.

"How come he gets to go first?" Blue asked impatiently.

"Be patient! You'll get one too!"

Red was hesitant. Which one? He pointed to the middle one.

Oak seemed happy about his decision, "Charmander, eh? Excellen-"

He didn't finish his sentence after he saw Red's face. The boy's eyes were at least twice as big as normal and he was shaking. Charmander was the Pokémon that caused the damage that made him lose his voice.

"Um...how would you like Bulbasaur? A very gentle Pokémon," Oak said, trying to calm Red down.

Red grabbed the ball with Bulbasaur in it.

"Ha! If you're taking him, I'm taking...this one!" Blue said, pointing at the Charmander.

Red gulped. He tried to walk out the door, but Blue stopped him.

"Hey, how about a little battle?" he asked. Red had no choice but to accept.

Blue sent out his Charmander. Next came Red's Bulbasaur.

"Why don't you try scratching that tree frog?" Blue commanded. The Charmander ran over to its opponent and drove its sharp claws across its face.

Red was frozen. What could he do to get the Bulbasaur to follow his orders? Giving them verbally was out of the question. He stomped his right foot on the floor in frustration. As if it understood that or something, Red's Bulbasaur charged towards the Charmander, knocking it to the ground. _Tackle_, Red thought.

For the rest of the battle, Red continued to stomp on the ground. Each time, his Pokémon responded by using Tackle. After four or five times, Charmander fell down and wouldn't get up. Red won.

"Cheater..." Blue muttered. He then exited the lab, saying, "Red! Gramps! Smell ya later!"

Red's adventure was just beginning. He knew that. What he didn't know was how it would unfold.


	2. Chapter 2

Red had just beaten his rival. He grinned. Now that he defeated the Charmander, the Bulbasaur seemed stronger. Though it had some bruises from Charmander's attacks. It's cheek was still bleeding from the scratching. He would have to take it to a Pokémon Center or something.

But that would have to wait. Red waved goodbye to Professor Oak. Hard to believe a guy like him could be related to Blue. When Red stepped outside he walked towards Route 1. It's the only way in or out of Pallet Town, plus Red had heard that there was a Gym in the next city! As he passed through the tall grass, he noticed it rustling a little. He went through the first patch without any trouble, but when he entered the next patch of grass a giant, purple rat came out of nowhere and attacked Red. He managed to knock it off. That would give him a moment to get Bulbasaur out.

_So this is why Oak stopped me earlier_, he thought. He pulled out Bulbasaur's Poké Ball and threw it into the air. With a burst of light, the Grass-type soon was on the ground, ready to battle. _I hope he can still fight._

Red stomped his foot. Bulbasaur tackled the Pokémon, a Rattata. Somehow, the Rattata managed to get out of the way and Bulbasaur ran into a tree. The Rattata took the moment to charge in Red's starter. Bulbasaur looked like he could faint at any time.

_Critical hit. Great. Time to run. _Red returned Bulbasaur to his Poké Ball and ran away. The Rattata didn't bother to chase him. Red was too busy focusing on moving fast he nearly ran into a man holding a bag of items.

"Oh, hello!" the man said. He was wearing some sort of uniform, probably for a company. Red couldn't recognize it. The man continued, "I work at a Pokémon Mart. It's a convient store, so drop by any time! The nearest one is in Viridian City. I know, here." The man handed Red a small spray bottle. "That's a potion. It will heal a Pokémon's wounds. It's very useful for trainers."

That was just what Red needed. He used it immediately, spraying Bulbasaur with whatever was in it. For some reason, it took more than one spray. In fact, he had to use the entire bottle!_ What a ripoff! _Red thought. Still, Bulbasaur did seem much happier and healthier now. Maybe he should pay that Poké Mart a visit.

As he walked along the route, he managed to defeat several of those Rattatas and even a couple of Pidgeys. His Bulbasaur was feeling stronger than ever. In fact, Bulbasaur learned a new move.

Bulbasaur shot a seed out of his bulb. It hit a flying, unsuspecting Pidgey, which broke the seed and released vines that wrapped the bird in them. It fell from the sky and landed on the ground. The vines squeezed the life out of the Pidgey, life that was sent to Bulbasaur to heal. This continued until the Pidgey fainted, when the vines loosened.

Red sent Bulbasaur back to his ball and walked into Viridian City. It was pretty small, but there were plenty of sights to see. For example, that old man lying unconcious on the road. _Is that guy okay? _Red ran over.

"Hey!" the man yelled. Red jumped back. "I ain't lettin' you through my home!"

"Our home isn't even in Viridian, dear," an old lady, who looked like his wife, said. She seemed to be trying to get him up.

Red ran back to avoid any trouble. That's when he found the Poké Mart. _I **am** running low on potions. _He walked in and saw row after row of Poké Balls, potions, Pokémon clothing, food, and practically everything a trainer needs or wants.

"Hey you!" the cashier said, looking at Red. Red pointed to himself. "Yeah, you! You come from Pallet Town?" Red nodded. "You know Professor Oak, right? His order just came in. Can you deliver it to him?"

Red took the parcel. It was a brown box that didn't even hint at what might be inside. All it had was some stamps and Oak's address. Red didn't have a lot of money, so he didn't buy anything. He would focus on delivering this for now.

He hopped down the ledges to get back to Pallet Town. Walking into Oak's laboratory, he saw the last Poké Ball still sitting there. No one had taken it yet.

"Ah, Red. How's my Pokémon doing?" Red handed him the Poké Ball. "Hmm, seems good. It's really become attached to you." Red handed him the package. "Oh, what's this? Oh, it's here!"

Red peeked inside. There was a Poké Ball, except it was purple on top and had an "M" engraved into it. Red was curious.

Professor Oak must have seen Red's face because he closed the box and quickly said, "That's nothing of importance. Just a little side project I'm working on."

Just then, Blue barged into the room. "Gramps!" he shouted, "What'd you call me for?"

"That's right! I have a request for both of you." Oak walked over to his desk, which had two red devices on it. "On this desk is my latest invention, the Pokédex! It automatically records data on every Pokémon you see or catch. It's a high-tech encyclopedia!" Oak handed them to Red and Blue. Attached to it were five Poké Balls. "I want you two to go record data on every Pokémon there is!"

"Whatever, Gramps! Smell ya later!" Blue walked out of the lab. Red followed him.

Professor Oak sighed. "That boy doesn't appreciate anything that I do for him. If he knew..."


	3. Chapter 3

_Well_, Red thought, _here's my Pokédex. What now?  
_

Red got an idea. He ran through the tall grass of Route 1, careful to avoid any of the Pokémon within the grass. Somehow, one got him. It was a Pidgey, but by now Red needed another Pokémon. He saw Blue had two Poké Balls on his waist. That second one was probably either a Pidgey or a Rattata. Well, he wasn't the only one who could catch a Pokémon! Red sent out Bulbasaur.

The Pidgey attacked first, flapping its wings near the ground to send sand flying into the air. It nearly blinded Red, who tried to tell his Bulbasaur to place that "Leech Seed", as it was called, on the bird. Bulbasaur wouldn't respond to his gesture since he couldn't see them. The Pokémon tried tackling what he thought was the opponent, but hit a tree instead. From behind, the Pidgey sent a gust of wind into Bulbasaur. That blew the sand away. Now that Bulbasaur could see Red, he was ready to truly fight.

Red learned to signal moves by putting up to four fingers up. One was to tackle, two was to growl, three was to use "Leech Seed". Four did nothing yet. Red put up three fingers. From the bulb on his Pokémon's back came a seed. It was shot onto the Pidgey where it broke open to reveal several vines. The vines surrounded the bird and slowly closed it on it. With each squeeze, Bulbasaur regained strength.

Next, Red put up a single finger. Bulbasaur slammed into the wild Pidgey, hurting it even more. Once again, the vines squeezed, leaving it almost unconscious. Red took out a Poké Ball, one he bought when that guy asked him to deliver that package to Oak. He threw it at the Pidgey. The ball open, revealing a burst of light that engulfed the Pidgey and brought it into the Poké Ball. It shook once...twice...three times. A click was heard and it didn't shake any more. The Pidgey was caught.

* * *

Red moved on into Viridian City. He felt ready to take on the Gym there. However, when he tried to open the doors, he found them locked. No matter how hard he pulled, the doors wouldn't budge. He even tried kicking it open, but that didn't work. So, reluctantly, he left. But he would be back.

He noticed the old man that was lying down before had gotten up. Red tried to walk past him, but the old man blocked the way.

"Ah, I've had my coffee and I sure do feel great!" he said, "Oh, sorry. Here, you can go through! Are you in a hurry?" Red nodded. "Time is money. Go along then."

_That was too easy. I thought he would, like, teach me how to catch a Pokémon or something. _Red passed through and headed to a Poké Mart. He was greeted by the same clerk that gave him that package.

"Welcome back! Did you deliver that parcel to Professor Oak?" the clerk asked. Red nodded. "Excellent! Care to buy anything?"

Red purchased several more Poké Balls and a couple of potions. He was going to go on Route 22, to the Indigo Plateau. Home to the Elite Four of the Pokémon League. On Route 22, he spotted a Mankey. Red chased after it, knocking it over so he could fight it. He sent out his new Pidgey for this one.

Red looked at his Pokédex. According to this, the Pidgey currently knew only two moves. That sand attack and that gust thing. Red put up a single finger, meaning for the "Sand Attack". Pidgey stared at him, confused. The Mankey took advantage of this by scratching Pidgey's face. The bird stepped back and kicked sand into the Mankey's face. It then created a wind that blew the Mankey into the forested area behind it. The wild Pokémon ran away, still conscious but injured.

Red returned Pidgey to its Poké Ball. _Wow. This thing is more powerful than I thought. _Red continued walking along the route when he ran into none other than Blue himself.

"Watch where you're going, moron. You almost ran into me!" Blue yelled, "I know you can't talk, but are you blind too?" He laughed at his own joke. Red didn't find it funny. "So, what, you're going to the Pokémon League? Forget it! You don't even have a single badge!"

Red wanted to punch Blue. Unfortunately, he kept talking, "Heck, I could probably beat you! C'mon, let's have a battle! I can show you how better my Pokémon are!"

Blue sent out a Pidgey. Red threw a random Poké Ball out. What came out was his still injured Pidgey. Blue's Pidgey conjured up a gust to blow Red's Pidgey back. Red even had trouble standing. His Pidgey had it worse. It fainted from its injuries. Red returned it and sent out his Bulbasaur. The Bulbasaur used "Leech Seed" on the opponent Pidgey. As it had its health slowly drained, the Pidgey flapped its wngs and sent sand into the Bulbasaur's-and Red's-eyes. Both of them couldn't see. Pidgey continued its onslaught of massive winds, each one bringing the Bulbasaur closer to its knees. Eventually, Blue had enough.

"Alright, come back," Blue said, returning his Pidgey, "I want to make this more fun..."

He chose his Charmander. The sand has mostly cleared up by now. Red wished it hadn't. Seeing Charmander brought back awful memories. He was too stunned to even signal Bulbasaur.

"Where was I? Oh right..." Blue pointed to his Charmander, "Make him burn."

The Charmander shot flames out of its mouth. They were rather weak, but when they hit Bulbasaur, they left a burn. The burn continued to weaken him until it was too much. Bulbasaur collapsed.

"Ha! Am I great or what?" Blue laughed and pushed Red aside. He walked into Viridian City and went north, probably to Viridian Forest.

* * *

Red clenched his fists. He hurried back to the Pokémon Center to heal his unconscious Pokémon. He sighed and waited. Suddenly, a voice behind him yelled something. Red's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"HEY, KID! STOP, YOU THIEF!"


	4. Chapter 4

Red turned around to face the man who called him a thief. It was an old man. He looked like that one from before. The one that was lying on the ground yelling at people until he got coffee. He seemed even angrier now. He was walking with a cane.

"Them Poké Balls...they wouldn't happen to have an Abra in it, would they?" the old man said, glaring at Red.  
Red shook his head, knowing he had only his Bulbasaur and Pidgey. "Oh, really? Why don't you show me them then?"

"Um, sir," the nurse behind the Pokémon Center counter began to say, "We don't allow Pokémon outside Poké Balls within the building."

"But ya allow stolen Pokémon?" the man yelled.

"Sir, both of this child's Pokémon's OT's say this boy's name. They are both his," the nurse explained.

"Check the PC then! He's hiding my Abra!"

"We don't display the contents of other trainers' PC's without their permission."

The old man scowled. He whacked Red with his cane. "Show me ya PC."

_PC? _Red thought, _That's all the way back at home. Well, if it gets this guy to go away... _Red began to walk towards the door.

"Whaddaya doin'? PC's right behind you, kid!" the old man whacked him again.

"Sir, stop assaulting that child." the nurse said, anger in her voice.

"I'll do whatever I want. Get me another beer, bi-"

"SIR!" the nurse interrupted, "Leave this Pokémon Center now!"

_So he was drunk? _Red ran out, while the old man yelled at him. Red escaped right into the Viridian Forest. To the inexperienced trainer, the forest was a maze full of poisonous bugs, 3-foot moths, and if you're really unlucky, a rat that can control a thunderstorm.

Red decided to train against the wild Pokémon before he faced any trainers. That is, until he saw that the people in the forest were 7 year old kids collecting bugs. They could easily be beaten.

"Hey, I'm Anthony, wanna fight?" That kid's Caterpies were knocked out by Red's Pidgey almost instantly. In fact, they all were easy. Red didn't have any trouble until he walked into some tall grass. That's when he heard the cry he was hoping not to hear.

"Pika?" Pikachu. The Mouse Pokémon. From that description, it doesn't sound tough. That was many a trainer's first mistake. The second mistake was actually battling it.

But Red decided he wanted one. So he sent out his Pidgey. The Pikachu shot a small bolt of lightning at the bird, which was very effective against it. The Pidgey was hardly able to stay in the air. Red sent it back so it wouldn't faint. Then, he got Bulbasaur. That made it easier. The electricity didn't do as much damage. Red signaled to his Bulbasaur to do its newest move. He raised four fingers.

Bulbasaur shot a vine out of its bulb. He snapped it like a whip onto the Pikachu. That seemed to hit the Pikachu in a sensitive spot. It should be ready to catch. Red prepared a Poké Ball. This would be his third Pokémon.

The Poké Ball sent the Pikachu into it. It shook once, twice, three times. _Click! _Red was surprised. That Poké Ball...wasn't his.

Blue walked up, snickering. "Thank you for weakening that for me. I don't really need it. I'll probably just release it. Well, smell ya later!"

Red was furious. He punched a tree just to get rid of his anger. All that work-and a near-fainted Pokémon-and nothing to show for it. Great. Just great.

_I guess I could catch another one...but not now. _Red sulked and headed back to the Pokémon Center. He didn't get too far until he spotted another Pikachu. _I'd better just run_, Red thought. But he couldn't get away. He lifted up Bulbasaur's Poké Ball. That only seemed to anger the electric mouse. The wild Pokémon shot a bolt of electricity straight at Red. Bulbasaur's Poké Ball flew out of his hand and rolled somewhere into the woods. He couldn't send his Pidgey out against a foe like this

Red knew he could only run. But the Pikachu wasn't feeling very kind today. It zapped Red again, this time knocking him to the ground. He looked up. The last thing he remembered seeing was the Pikachu charging up.

_**ZAP!**_


End file.
